Halloween

You have many friends and relatives that are in full time service for the Lord, for which you can be thankful. If you look at my profile you will see that I am a missionary. You wouldn't see any of the things that I posted in Canada, I agree. I am not posting from Canada. That is one of the reasons that I am replying to your post quite late. Internet here is sporadic, unreliable (as is electricity) and quite undependable. Just to be able to post once in awhile is a privilege.

Where did you stay? In first class hotels? In tourist resorts? On well protected mission compounds where you really don't see the outside world? Was that the case? Didn't you open your eyes to those around you? Mexico is full of child-labor camps. Labor is cheap because of children that are forced to work; even parents that sell their children for income. The children work as slaves for x amount of years until the debt is paid off, and then returned--sometimes. Many times they are never returned at all. I find it so pitiful in your attitude.

"My little Johnny is missing out on his childhood because he can't celebrate Halowe'en." Most children (especially in 3rd world countries don't have a childhood, as we define it. They are forced to work to help out with the family income as early as six and seven years old. What childhood are you talking about? Halowe'en? Get a grip!! There are more serious things in life. How often do you see people in Mexico celebrating Hallowe'en.

Spend time in Mexico right among the people and see what they do celebrate. See how the Catholic religion (the Mexican's largest relgion) mixes paganism and the occult, to accomadate Mexican culture and beliefs to their religion. The Catholic religion is like a Chameleon. It changes colors wherever it is. It incorporates paganism from Hindus, Islam, and many other religions, depending on the area in which it is located. A Mexican Roman Catholic will use incantations, (like a witch doctor would), sprinkle water and/or oil to ward off evil spirits (an occultic practice), light candles under their idols, like statues of Mary (a Hindu practice), etc. etc. Please, don't tell me you have been to Mexico and haven't observed any of these things!! Was it just a sight-seeing tour that you went on?

Almost every third world mation has such things in common--deep poverty, much superstition, and an incomplete knowledge of the gospel primarily due to the poisonous teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

Have you ever seen:
a goat or chicken offered to a statue of Mary?
a pilgrimmage made to a statue of Mary (like the Muslims)?
people voluntarily crucifying themselves to crosses in the name of Catholicism?
the Hindu practice of lighting candles, as many as possible encircling the statue of Mary?
the warding off of demons by sprinkling "holy Water" on the door posts of your house?

I could go on. This follows the paganization of Christianity and the beginning of the Catholic Church in 313 when Constantine made a false profession of faith, introduced idolatry into the Church, and made it a state religion by legalizing it. The paganization of the Catholic Church has not stopped. It continues today. And Christians unwittingly support it making a mockery of this false religion, its pagan practices, and even the worship of demons, by the imitation thereof.
And you say it deprives your child of his/her childhood. God help us all!
DHK </font>[/QUOTE]

Is it absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for you to write a post without casting personal insults at everyone with whom you disagree! SHAME ON YOU!!!

 

Now wait minute. DHK has a point here. I may not agree with him about the celebration of Halloween, but not allowing one's children to celebrate it in no way constitutes "robbing them of their childhood".

We are so far removed from here in the US from the real world. We don't see all the children from third world countries who are sold into slavery. And being sold to someone who merely works you from daylight to dark is a blessing. You could have been sold to a sex trader. All because your parents believed it was bigger sin to use birth control than to sell your children!

We here don't see this stuff. We may hear about it, but usually shrug it off as not being possible, because in our world most of us know where our next meal is coming from and it would never dawn on us what folks with no job and no education among thousands of other people with no jobs or education, might do just to survive another night.

We simply don't have the experience of deprivation in this country that other countries have. We've been too blessed and it has warped our sense to know the difference between need and want.

An example: Halloween is a want! I personally have no problem with celebrating Halloween as our experience with it here is not an occultic one. It's still a want! Our children need food, not candy. Candy is a want! Not having that candy isn't going to take away my kids childhood. Might help with the dental bills......

Nasty remarks like getting more reliable internet service, isn't going to help DHK to understand your position, when better service may not be available at all.

Just because you haven't seen the things DHK talks about, doesn't mean they don't happen. Just that you've never had the experience.

While I've never been out of this country, I know things like what DHK describes happen even here in ours. It's just harder to find. People hide it more because of our legal system. But you just head on down to your local branch of Human Resources and ask them what goes on.

Never, ever would I be able to claim that not celebrating Halloween robs a child of their childhood.

 

I'm not sure I read personal insults in DHK's post. I do read a very forceful argument. DHK was asked a question and gave a very thorough response. Maybe a bit more gentleness, brother.

 

I am not questioning that some children in some third world countries have a less desirable childhood than some children in some of the more affluent countries. But DHK’s personal insults have no place in ANY country!

 

The argument that some children in some third world countries have a less desirable childhood than some children in some of the more affluent countries is irrelevant to the question of whether or not it is right to deny children in the more affluent countries of important cultural activities that are part of a normal childhood. Many children in the more affluent countries are not only denied the important cultural experiences of Halloween, they are also denied the important cultural experiences of Christmas and Easter.

And anyone who might think that extremely miserable childhoods are limited to third world countries is simply mistaken. I am not a JW and I do not believe that it is the responsibility of Christians to imitate them.

 

Originally posted by Craigbythesea:

"Many children in the more affluent countries are not only denied the important cultural experiences of Halloween, they are also denied the important cultural experiences of Christmas and Easter.
And anyone who might think that extremely miserable childhoods are limited to third world countries is simply mistaken. I am not a JW and I do not believe that it is the responsibility of Christians to imitate them."

Craig, I know many, many true Christians who have chosen not to celebrate Christmas and Easter. The Bible does not call us to cultural experience, but rather to not be conformed to this world, and to be convinced in our own minds. To some this means not to celebrate these holidays. Just a thought.

 

Perhaps you missed my earlier post in this thread,

 

Craig, I had missed your earlier post, so I'm glad you reposted it. I think perhaps I misunderstood, then, your comment about the children in more affluent countries being denied Christmas and Easter. Thanks for straightening it out.

 

Craigbythesea and Rachel,
THANK YOU

Cindy

 

Your welcome Cindy!

God bless,
Rachel

 

You’re welcome, Cindy!

May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you and your family this coming Halloween.

CBTS

 

How? It was not intended to even be regarded as "satans day". </font>[/QUOTE]when you celebrate it the way the worls does, with witches and denoms and momsters and junk, yes it is being dedicated to satan. </font>[/QUOTE]Do you exchange presents for Christmas? This is what the "world" does! Do you eat turkey for Thanksgiving? Quit the legalism...dressing up as spiderman and going door to door to get candy is not dedicating anything to satan.

 

I agree, it doesn't make much sense. Is the implication supposed to be that because some children in some places are unhappy that other children shouldn't be allowed to do enjoyable things?

I don't have a problem with trick-or-treating either. We never dressed up as scary things. I remember at various times I dressed up as a cat, a clown, and a gypsy. We always went to all of my neighbors' houses and visited with some of them. Nothing in the least occult about it!

 

I have not read all of the posts here but I just have one statement to make if someone has not already.

The world as been taking our holidays and turning them into ungodly rituals for drinking and drugging. I say we take back some ground and turn Halloween into something Godly. Then we can read the books on how it used to be evil and now it is a positve experience for our kids.

 

Amen

 

Christians know that they are to avoid, not just a little bit, not just sort of, not just mostly, but, totally and completely avoid the occult, evil practices, spells, etc. These folks in the verses below made sure that there was nothing left of them. They didn't play, pretend, and just have a little fun with what these books contained, they got rid of them.

Act 19:14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
Act 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
Act 19:16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Act 19:17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Act 19:18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
Act 19:19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Act 19:20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

Why isn't the name of the Lord being magnified? Why isn't the word of God growing mightily and prevailing? It is because of the attitude of Christians who think that they can decide that there are certain good times when they can "let their hair down" and not take it so seriously. Not just on October 31st, that is just the most blatantly obvious. Instead of trying to avoid such things, we try and see how close we can get without "really" crossing the line. IMHO, telling people by your participation, that evil things aren't reaaaalllllly so bad is jumping across the line with both feet and eyes wide open.

 

All us eeeeevil halloweenies will keep that in mind next time frankenstein's monster, the wolfman, the blood sucking, immortal Vlad Dracula, a broom riding, flying green witch with a wart on her nose, mummys, walking skeletons, the headless horsemen, etc., etc., are proven to actually exist. Until such time as they are proven to exist, or God convicts us otherwise, we will entertain ourselves, and others, with FICTIONAL, MAKE BELIEVE characters.

 

Well,

I just came back from four hours of "God's Creation Celebration." Baptist churches in town divided weekends. Some did it this weekend, some will do it next weekend.

We put on a carnival for children, registering ever attendee and giving them a tract that talks about how people who didn't know any better who were Celtic used to celebrate the Celtic New Year with Halloween, how jackolaterns started, and then how wonderful it was when they found out that they don't have to be afraid of all those false things because Jesus Christ is real, and He came to earth to be the sacrifice for our sins.

The attendance was wonderful. The children were adoreable. Bus loads of kids from across town came in, and a lot of loving Christian witnessing that disproves the, "Christians don't laugh," theory went on, and a lot of promises to be here tomorrow were given.

As far as witnessing tools, it went off so well, that the groups are thinking of doing a simliar event in the Spring.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that spiritual wickedness was make believe. In that case it is quite all right to play with it. My bad.

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.